This application claims the priority benefit of Japanese application serial no.2001-389909, filed on Dec. 21, 2001.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to garments having cupwires, including foundation garments such as brassieres and body suits, lingerie such as bra-slips, and sportswear such as leotards and swim suits.
2. Description of Related Art
In the past, such garments with cupwires (exemplified by the brassiere) were normally made up of a left and right cup connected in the middle; a foundation fabric sewn under the cups, backpieces sewn to the outer ends of the cups and extending around the wearer""s torso to her back; and shoulder straps attached to the backpiece. The foundation fabric was made of a material that was not easily stretched, but the backpiece and shoulder straps had good elasticity.
The brassiere was constructed such that, because of the elasticity of the backpieces, when the brassiere was put on and fastened, it would be held tightly around the wearer""s torso to her back, the cups would be held up by the elastic shoulder straps, and the under-bust would be stabilized by the foundation fabric. The bust was given added stability by underwires constructed to follow the curved lower surfaces of the cups. In such conventional brassieres, although the elasticity of the backpiece and shoulder straps generally prevented the brassiere from slipping when the wearer moved, certain body motions performed in everyday activities (such as extending the arms above the head and stretching [to reach a high shelf]) would cause the foundation fabric to slide upward, and the cupwires to shift and rise.
The reason for this was that the foundation pieces were made of a material that had very little stretch in the front, and the stability of the brassiere on a wearer relied primarily on the pulling force applied to the foundation pieces by the high elasticity backpieces and shoulder straps. A balance normally existed in the tension applied to the foundation pieces, but even the slightest disruption of this balance could cause the brassiere to slip, causing discomfort for the wearer.
This disruption of balance occurred not only during strenuous physical activity such as in sports, but could also be caused by normal body movements. This slipping could probably have been prevented by increasing the tension of the back pieces. The problem with this, however, was that a tight brassiere worn for a long period of time could reduce blood circulation and cause harmful effects such as xe2x80x98cold burn.xe2x80x99
The present invention was developed to solve this problem. It is an object of the invention to provide a garment with left and right cupwires rotatably attached to a hingepin provided at the front center portion of the bodice, such as to enable the garment to adapt to changes in breast shape caused by physical actions of the wearer, or by physical characteristics such as left and right breasts of different size or shape, and by so doing, to provide a garment that is comfortable to wear, and does not make the wearer feel ill at ease.
To achieve the above object, the present invention provides, as a means of solving this problem, a garment with cupwires, characterized in that a hingepin is provided at the front center portion of the garment, and inner ends of a left and right cupwire thereof are rotatably attached to the hingepin.
The invention also provides a garment with cupwires constructed as described above, wherein the left and right cupwires are attached to the hingepin by appropriately shaped through-holes provided at the inner ends of the cupwires, and wherein the attachment of left and right cupwires to the hingepin is such that they are prevented from being removed therefrom by a stopper provided at the top of the hingepin.
The invention further provides a garment with cupwires, constructed as described above, wherein the attachment of the left and right cupwires to the hingepin is such they are removable and replaceable thereon, and wherein the attachment of the left and right cupwires to the hingepin is such that they are removable and replaceable by engaging and disengaging a fastener that engages a head portion of the hingepin.